Manually variable trolling plate for outboard motors



April 1957 E. c. JOHNSON 2,787,974

MANUALLY VARIABLE TROLLING PLATE. FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed July 2, 1953 3nventor Ed 0. Johnson was W attorney United States Patent '0 MANUALLY'VARIABLE TROLLING PLATE FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Ed CQJohnson, Nunn, Colo.

Application Julya, 1953,' Serial No. 365,698

3 Claims. (Cl. 115-18) "This invention' relates to' outboard motors,1and more particularly to trolling plates-for outboards designed-to slow the normal? pushing speed of'a motor; when trolling in fishing, belowthat of any normal motor revolution pushing speed. "Heretofore, every time the boat fisherman wanted to troll, he would have to attach the trolling plate by clamps or bolt or boItsjust to the rear ofthe propeller of the motor, and when he was through trolling he' would have-t remove the plate, requiring such attachmentand removal, respectively, many times'when the fishermanwas in the boat and out'on a bodyof water, withresultant inconvenience: and danger to the fisherman. Attempt has heretoforebeen made to have a"trolling. plate permanently mounted to the outboard motor, so that the 'fisher'mancould cause any one of different angular positions'of the plate to occur'without having'to remove the plate, but, as far as" known,all previoussuch devices have comprised complicated systerns-of lev'ers and pivots, having'to'o many parts, and

being too complicated and heavy to be inexpensive to manufacture and: practical to install and operate.

*Accordingly, it is a primary object ofthis invention to provide a manually operable variable trolling plate attachme'nt, of'fewer parts, than heretofore, of sturdy and simple construction, and easy to attach andoperate; and inexpensive to manufacture, whereby the fishermanoperatonmay'leave-the plate, permanently attached to the motor and-be-able to operate same to vary the'angle of the platewith relation to the propeller blade without leaving hisrear boat seatf'and at the same time, one which. will-permitadjustrnent'of-the, plate into a horizontal position or anti-cavitation acting device when it is'not desired -totroll' with the plate adjusted into trolling position.

Anothe'r objectof this invention is the, provision of suchan attachment comprising only a-pivotally mounted trollingsplate, in trolling position 'association with the pr'o'p'ellor; a stationary cross latch-acting bar thereabove, and one=verticallygoperable adjustment and connecting bar pivoted'di'rectly to the plate and extending between the plate and the latch bar and being normally spring held in latch relationship with the bar.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the following'detailed description,-and from the drawings in which:

Figure lis aperspective view of an Evinrude motor, having my attachment secured thereto, by'way of example;

lligure- 2' is-a top view of my'latch acting or cross bar 30, through which-'my 'one adjustment'and connecting bar SB eXtends-and-is operable; and

-Fi'gure 3 is across-sectional partial view taken on the line 3, looking in direction of the arrow, of Figure 2.

Throughout the drawings like characters of reference have been u's'ed 'to represent like parts.

Reference numeral indicates a-conventional outboard -mo tor,- -i-llustrated in design, for example, as an Evinr-ude moron having, as do all such motors, a motor head por- 'tion 20, gas-tankuz, steering handldll, transom hinge 13; for securing "to" the boat stern, exhaust 14, gear and power shaft-housings, anti-cavitationpl ate 16, -pr'opellor '17; 'cam"sh'a'ft' housin '18, and horizontal motor block 2,787,974 Patented. Apr. v9, 1957 cooling vanes 19. vVanes 19 are a pair, though only one is illustrated, of. identical shape and size and arehorizontallyparallel, one on each side of the motor block in horizontally parallel arrangement.

My attachment comprises only five component parts, capable of attachment to any similar design of motor, .as follows:

To the rear, or right as viewed, side of the motor, at the ends of the vanes 19, I secure a cross latch-acting bar 30, as by rigidlyibolting it. to the vanes, as by suitable holes and bolts, 31 and-35, respectively,. astillustrated. It is to be noted that cross bar 3(lis slightly bent downwardly in its center, so that when bolted'to vanesr19, that center portion. hangs downwardly from the horizontallyheld andparallelends thereof, for reason -to be explained. .Also,.atfthe center of that bar, a right angular opening 32 is formed thereinand with relationvto the bar, and that opening is reinforced by welding a yoke like rod member 30a, of. size and configuration and as illustrated, to that bar. The front edge/33 of that opening 32 is termed the-latch-holding edge, as willlbe explained. The opening32 is designed. sufiicientlylong enough and wide .enoughtopermit free sliding or vertical movement of the bar 50 there through, wheneveraan adjustmentof position of .the plate 45is desired to be made, as will be later explained, and atthe same time to-permit that bar 50 to be pivotally pushedbackwards on its pivot 52 and so astodisengageany one of teeth-notches 61 from engaging latch-holding .edge 33, as will .also be explained.

fA'suitablemetal strap-like yoke 40 is bolted securely around. exhaust anddrivelhousing members, 14- and 15, as illustrated, and carrying. av suitable bolt pivot 47rearwardly thereof, askillustrated. lll'is placed' just above the anti-cavitation member 16, and is so designed to cause the pivot bolt '47 to be positioned just slightly-to the rear of a vertical plane through the propellor.

I provide a trolling plate 45, having spaced apart cars 46 welded centrally to the rear side thereof, and within pivot collar 42 formed at the. top edge. thereof, .asby bending that edge, adapted to surround pivot bolt 47, for free pivotal movement of .the plate 45 on bolt 47as'its pivot. Ears'46 are slightlyfarther apart than the thickness ofbar 50, aligned holes being provided in thetwo ears so that the bar 50 may be. pivotally-secured to the ears by means of a bolt '52, extending through said holes.

Lastly, I provide the single adjustment and connecting bar50, and spring65. l preferably. provide bar 50 as a flat bar, and so as .to' freely pass through openingSZ, normally, except for the action ofspring 65, as. illustrated. The lower end is suitably pivoted to the ears of the trolling plate 45, as explained. The upper portion protrudes through opening 32, of latch acting bar 36, and extends well above bar'3tl, and. has a handle portion 53 formed at its top, Adjacent its top, bar 50 is provided with a plurality-ofspaced apart notches 69 formed in its, front edge, with each of said notches. being Wide enoughto freely fully engage, by sliding over, the latch-holding-or acting edge 33 of opening 32 of bar 30. Notches- 66am formed 'asillustrated, in'that edge of barv 50, with each 'slightlysl'anting backwardlyand downwardly, and sons to' be' able to holdingly cooperate with the also downwardly' slanting holding edge. 33, when engaged; therewith,aswill be'further explained. Coil tensionspring The positioning of the notches 60, in bar 50, is so designed as to permit thebar to be raised or lowered, with relation to latch-acting bar 30, so as to cause any of the illustrated positions of plate 45, on the pivot of the latter, as illustrated in dotted lines.

When connecting and adjusting bar 50 is so adjusted as to cause the trolling plate 45 to be positioned in any one of the dotted line illustrations of positioning of that trolling plate, upon operation of the motor, in trolling, that plate will then act to resist passage of water from the propellor thereagainst, and that resistance pressure, in turn, tends to cause an upthrust through the cars 46 and bolt 52 against bar 50, and 50 in turn carries that upthrust to edge 61 of the notch 60 engaging the holding edge 33, of latch-acting bar 30, so that the entire upthrust is borne by bar 50 and said edge 61 and bar 30; and, it will be seen that the downwardly slanting configuration of notches 60, and also of the engaging edge 33, of latch bar 30, assures a constant engagement of 60 and 33 bythat up-thrust during trolling, and which I term a thrust-acting holding means.

In motor operation when trolling, the fisherman may cause any one of different angular adjustments of the trolling plate, as illustrated in dotted lines, by pushing the bar 50, by its handle, backwardly away from him, as he sits in the rear of the boat with the motor running, by exerting a suflicient pressure on bar handle 53 to cause the spring 65 to expand sufficiently to permit bar 50, in yoke opening 32, to be moved backwardly on its pivot 52 to disengage whichever notch 60 is engaging latchactingedge 33, and then either raising or lowering bar 50, with the spring so expanded, as desired, and then reengaging the desired new notch 60 with 33 to effect the desired angular position of plate 45 on the latters pivot. Spring 65 assists in that reingagement. When the plate is so adjusted into position illustrated in solid lines of Figure 1, so as to be in a horizontal position, it will act as an additional anti-cavitation plate with16, and will then not interfere with the water pushing action of the propellor, as when the fisherman does not wish to troll. Spring 65 is designed to hold the engagement position of a notch 60 with edge 33, when the motor is not in use.

It is to be understood that many changes and modifications of my invention may be made without deviating from the teaching and spirit thereof, and, therefore, 'I wish to be limited only by the scope of the hereunto appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. In combination with an outboard motor having a motor block having a pair of cooling vanes extending in a parallel horizontal plane on each side and rearwardly thereof, a propellor, drive shaft and exhaust housing extending from the motor downwardly to adjacent the propeller, and an anti-cavitation plate secured to said housing just above said propellor, the combination therewith of an adjustable trolling plate attachment comprising a latch-acting bar horizontally and rigidly secured to the rearwardly extending cooling vanes and having a downwardly slanting latch-acting holding edge and a yoke extending from said edge, means for so securing the latchacting bar to the vanes, a trolling plate pivotally mounted at a point adjacent the rear of the anti-cavitation plate and above the propellor, means for so pivotally mounting the trolling plate, an adjusting and connecting single bar extending vertically and slidably through the yoke and having its lower end pivotally, secured directly to the trolling plate at a point thereon spaced from the trolling plate pivot, means for so pivotally securing the adjusting and connecting bar to the trolling plate, said adjusting and connecting single bar having a plurality of spaced apart downwardly slanting notches formed in its forward edge adjacent the upper portion of said bar and adjacent the latch acting holding edge of the latch-acting bar,

the inner size of the yoke being sufiicient to permit free vertical sliding movement of the adjusting and connecting bar therethrough for efiFecting swinging movement of the plate on its pivot thereby throughout a ninety degree angle, and a tension spring means for normally causing the adjusting and connecting bar to swing forwardly on its pivot securement point with the plate, comprising an adjustable water thrust-acting holding trolling plate attachment during motor operation in the water with the plate in trolling plate angular condition.

2. A thrust-acting, holding, single, adjusting and connecting rod means for connecting a pivotally mounted trolling plate on an outboard motor for adjustment of said plate during operation of the motor, comprising: a cross latch bar secured to the upper portion of the motor and having a holding edge with a yoke extending from that edge, a single adjusting and connecting rod vertically and slidably extending through said yoke and having its lower end pivotally secured to the plate, means for so pivotally securing said lower end of the bar to the plate, said rod having a plurality of spaced apart separate holding notch means formed in its forward edge adjacent the holding edge of the latch bar and with each of said notch means being adapted to be selectively and slidably engaged with said holding edge of the latch bar in ditferent positions of said rod, for utilizing the up-thrust from the plate, upon motor operation in water, for effecting a holding of the rod against said holding edge, and spring means for normally removably holding a notch means engagement of the rod with the holding edge of the latch bar when the motor is not in operation in the water.

3. In combination, an adjustable trolling plate for outboard motors, comprising, a horizontal latch-acting bar rigidly secured to the upper rear part of the motor and having a downwardly slanting latch-acting holding edge and a yoke extending from said edge, means for so securing the latch-acting bar to the motor, a trolling plate pivotally mounted at a point above and to the rear of the motor propellor, means for effecting the pivotal mounting of the plate, a single adjustable vertical adjusting and connecting rigid bar operably slidably extending through said yoke and having its lower end pivotally connected directly to the plate, means for efiecting said direct pivotal mounting of the lower end of the adjusting and connecting bar to the plate, the yoke extending horizontally from the holding edge a distance and being of an internal area size sufficiently to permit free up and down movement of the single adjusting and connecting bar within the yoke and between the portion of the yoke opposite the latch-acting holding edge and the holding edge, up-thrust holding means on said single connecting and adjusting bar at a point adjacent said latch holding edge of the latch-acting bar and adapted for cooperating with said latch-acting bar holding edge in utilizing the up-thrust from the plate, during motor operation in water, for holding the plate on its pivot, in any one of a plurality of positions thereof in an angle from the horizontal, by holding said single connecting bar, said cooperation of the holding means with the latch acting bar comprising a holding of the single adjusting and connecting bar from upward vertical movement with relation to the holding edge of the latch-acting bar, and tension means associated with said single adjusting and connecting bar and being adapted for normally holding said single adjusting and connecting bar from any vertical movement when the motor is in inoperation in water and being in association with said holding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,394,645 Schmidt Oct. 25, 1921 1,475,111 Gries et al Nov. 20, 1923 2,230,958 Langdon Feb. 4, 1941 2,288,504 Weber June 30, 1942 2,303,586 Snell Dec. 1, 1942 

